CHAPTER ONE
THE house was locked and abandoned. She’d knocked for ages—and then finally resorted to trying the door-knob.
She’d flown halfway across the world—and come to a locked door. Now what? Jane had told her someone would greet her here.
This wasn’t a good sign, was it?
Maybe “someone” was simply late. She pushed her suitcases to the side and sat down on the step. Jane wasn’t answering her cell phone, so she dug in her purse for the printout of her last e-mail to double check the street name and number. Yes. She was at the right place, and the right time had come and gone twenty minutes ago, but nobody was here yet.
She sent Jane a text message, then stuffed the phone and the diary back into her purse.
She’d wait awhile.
Then she’d panic.
At least the house looked nice. And the street was pretty and quiet—if you didn’t count the noise of children yelling. Of course, for a schoolteacher that was mere background noise.
Hailey was so mesmerized watching the children rush back and forth on their bikes in the street that she nearly screamed when a shadow fell over her.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you. You must be Hailey?”
She squinted up at him. He looked like a tall and menacing shadow from this angle, but at least the voice wasn’t menacing. This was probably “someone.” “Where did you come from?”
“Next door. Jumped over the fence, so you probably didn’t see me coming. I’m Jordan Halifax.” He shifted to the side and she could look at him. Still tall and menacing and scruffy—in what she and her girlfriends in her previous life would have called a hot way. “Jane asked me to check on you when you arrived.”
They made sexy men in Alaska too. Dammit.
But she wasn’t seeing sexy. Nope. Not for another five months. See no sexy, hear no sexy, speak no sexy. She squinted until he looked like an undefined shadow again. Safer that way. “Hi. Jane said someone would meet me here, and I guess you’re it.”
“Is there something wrong with your eyes?”
Hailey blinked, and he came into focus again. “Sorry. It was the sun. Do you have my key?”
“The key? No.”
“What?”
“The key is always under the pot.” Jordan nodded at a terra-cotta pot next to the door. “Didn’t Jane tell you about it? Just push the flowerpot a bit to the right, and you’ll find it.”
Key under a flowerpot? Seriously? What was this, a place out of time?
She pushed at the pot with the heel of her hand. It scraped on the old scarred concrete, but yes, there it lay. A house key. A bit rusty, showing it probably spent most of its time outdoors.
Jordan shifted his weight as if to leave. “Well. All set? Any questions?”
She held up the key to show her new neighbor, and pointed at the offending terra-cotta pot. “I can’t believe this! This is not good. It’s an open invitation for any serial killer to enter your home!”
“Really?”
“Yes! How do I know somebody hasn’t made a copy of this?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at her as if she was the crazy one. “You can always change the locks, I suppose. If it makes you feel better.”
“I mean—why bother to lock your door in the first place, if you just leave the key right next to it in the most obvious spot you can think of?”
Jordan grinned. “Yeah. That’s why I never lock my door.”
This was a serious culture shock for an L.A. girl.
“And you haven’t been murdered in your bed yet?”
“I don’t think so, no. Alaska’s too cold to be hell and this street is too damn noisy to be heaven.” He nodded toward the street. “Last few days before school starts. They are desperate to cram all the fun they can into this weekend. It usually isn’t quite this bad.”
“That’s not a problem for me. I’m a teacher. We’re impervious to this kind of noise.”
“That must be handy.”
“Yup. It’s a special course we take at college. ‘Closing Your Ears 101.”’
Why was she prattling on like this? Jordan smiled at her stupid joke, and she felt it in her gut. Dammit. But there was no reason to worry—he wasn’t even her type. Not even close. Hot, yes, but too scruffy. She liked neat guys. His hair was far too long, unruly and slightly curling, and although he seemed to have shaved recently, it was a bit lopsided, as if he’d been in a hurry.
She liked guys in suits and ties, hair neatly combed until such a time she saw an occasion to change that state. She liked sophisticated aftershave and polished shoes.
This guy’s tennis shoes looked like they’d seen better decades.
Feeling better at having reassured herself she would not be the least tempted by her new neighbor, she slid the key in a pocket and stood. She held out a hand. “I guess Jane told you my name, but for a proper introduction—I’m Hailey Rutherford.”
“Welcome to Alaska.” Jordan took her hand, and as she felt the warmth of it shoot up her arm she thought she detected a flash of interest in his eyes. His hand was large and warm and he held hers for what to her male-ienated mind was a moment too long.
Oh, no.
“I’m married,” she blurted out and snatched her hand back, inching her left one behind her back to hide the lack of a ring. “Happily married. Very happily.”
Amusement sparkled in his eyes—silver eyes—and a muscle at the corner of his mouth jumped, as if he were holding back a grin. Hailey gritted her teeth as a familiar feeling of folly crept up on her. Subtlety, girl!
“Congratulations,” Jordan said. “I’m happy for you.”
“Daddy!”
One of the little hooligans terrorizing the street came sprinting, taking a running leap up on his father’s back.
Dammit. The guy had a family and she’d virtually pointed a stun gun at him without a reason. Her antenna must have rusted.
An elfin face looked at her over his father’s shoulder. He looked about seven or eight. He might even be in her class, Hailey realized with excitement. She loved the feeling of meeting a new class, getting to know all the different emerging personalities inside the squirming group of children. “Hi!” the boy said, waving a grubby hand, and Hailey smiled at him.
“Hello. What’s your name?”
